2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Day Four: Infeld, Maloy and Bumbalough Advance to Finals of 5,000Emily Infeld and Elizabeth Maloy both advance to the finals of the women's 5,000-meter run while Bumbalough wins his heat to go to men's 5,000m finals

EUGENE, Ore. -
As the rain came down on historic Hayward Field, three Hoyas, two former and one current, took to the track on the fourth day of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for track & field. The trio all qualified for the finals of their respective events, the first three to advance to the finals this year. The 10-day event will go on hiatus for two days as the athletes take a break and will resume on Thursday, June 28.

NCAA Champion and All-American Emily Infeld (University Heights, Ohio/Beaumont) was the first GU athlete to step on to the track today as she ran in the first heat of the women's 5,000-meter run. The recent graduate who will spend her final year of eligibility on the Hilltop as she attends graduate school was the first collegiate finisher of the pack with a time of 15:43.41.

"I really just wanted to qualify," Infeld said. "I wasn't sure where anyone was around me so I was just trying to be right up there with the leaders when they went, or as close to them as I could be. And then ultimately just try to be in the top six. It's been so fun, there are so many great competitors - it was awesome."

With 1,600 meters to go she made a move from the middle of the pack up to the seventh spot. Infeld, a racer who is comfortable on the rail, made her move on the outside with 1,200 to make up two spots (fifth place) and sat there through the rest of the race while her kick put her in fourth place at the end. The first 1,200 meters of the race were at a slow pace but the pace continued to pick up throughout the remainder of the race.

"I'm really excited (to be in the finals)" Infeld continued. "This is my first Trials so I was just happy to be competing. I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to go. I just feel in shock to be here. There are people here who I've looked up to during my collegiate career and it's amazing to get to race against them."

Despite its slower start, the first heat was still faster than the second heat where former Hoya All-American Elizabeth Maloy, who still trains with Head Women's Cross Country Coach / Associate Head Coach for Men's & Women's Track & Field Chris Miltenberg, competed. Maloy, now running for New Balance, won her heat with a time of 15:46.00 and will join Infeld in the finals of the women's 5,000-meter run slated for Thursday, June 28 at 7:15 p.m. PT / 10:15 p.m. ET.

"It was definitely relaxed and pretty slow for the first two and half miles," Maloy recapped. "It felt good to get the nervous jitters out, though. I've never been to Trials before - it's amazing.

"I woke up nervous and the feeling didn't really go away until the gun went off," Maloy continued. "It was nice to get a race in and I can come back Thursday and feel confident."

Shortly after the women were off the track the men's 5,000-meter preliminary round was ready. Former Hoya and seven-time All-American on the Hilltop Andrew Bumbalough competed in the first of two heats. In what ended up being a slow race, Bumbalough started in the top three, slipped to the middle of the pack and over the final three laps took over first and made it all look easy while he was doing it. Bumbalough won his heat handily with a time of 13:46.80.

"I felt pretty good," Bumbalough said. "My finish is getting better and better. I haven't run a 5K since Stanford so it's fun to get back out here and run my actual event.

"I'm here to maximize my potential and get the highest place possible," Bumbalough commented. "Obviously my number one goal is to book my trip to London ... I know what I'm capable of, I'm going to run my race and see what that gets me.

The Hoyas will return to the track on Thursday with the finals of the 5,000-meter run as well as athletes slated for the 1,500-meter preliminaries (men and women) as well as the women's 400-meter hurdles.

Declarations for each event are open for up to 48 hours prior to the start time and will be considered and released on a rolling basis throughout the trials. Full coverage of current and former Georgetown student-athletes at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be available daily on www.GUHoyas.com.